28 February 2021
Here is the Energy Next news round up for February 2021
Australian first with battery approved for Hume hydro station
Meridian Energy will install the standalone 20 MW lithium-ion BESS alongside the 200 GWh Hume Hydroelectric Power Station after the NSW Department of Planning, Infrastructure and Environment approved the project, the first pairing of its kind in Australia.
TransGrid secures $600 million debt facility for transmission upgrades supporting REZ No. 1
Plans for transmission to support development of the NSW Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone are progressing apace with TransGrid having secured a $600 million bank debt facility.
Sod turning marks $20 million investment in future hydrogen workforce
Queensland has taken another step towards ensuring Australia emerges as a global hydrogen superpower. Construction has commenced on Queensland’s $20 million Hydrogen Training Centre of Excellence at Beenleigh.
Australia’s battery and hydrogen storage pipeline jumped by massive 20GW in 2020
New data released by Rystad Energy shows that 19.2 GW of battery storage and hydrogen electrolysers were added to the project pipeline in Australia last year.
UNSW researchers to develop roadmap for using excess renewables to power industry
The University of New South Wales along with several other universities and the CSIRO are embarking on a feasibility study into how New South Wales can utilise excess renewable energy to make fuel, chemicals and feedstocks for industry. The aim is to develop a plan for how fuels and chemicals such as green hydrogen and ammonia produced from renewables can decarbonise industry and grow manufacturing.
NSW appoints first Renewable Energy Sector Board to guide energy plan
The NSW Government has unveiled the appointees to its Renewable Energy Sector Board, which will provide advice on the job creation and manufacturing opportunities being created by the renewable energy sector.
Australia’s first hydrogen fuel cell factory
Sydney-based domestic hydrogen electrolyzer and storage system manufacturer Lavo has revealed it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish Australia’s first hydrogen fuel cell production line in Springfield City, Queensland.